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Columns/Opinions

For years Freestone County has dealt with the issue of expecting a certain standard, but not wanting to pay the appropriate price to those who try to provide that expected standard. Unfortunately, for myself, my staff, and all the county employees, many of which are, or were, new hires, years and years of previous issues and financial neglect for employees has come to a head and we are left to try and correct yet another problem that we have inherited.

Eighteen years ago I hired on at $27,000 a year. Eighteen years later our county is still trying to pay $26,000 for employees. I am extremely hopeful that our commissioners will take a long look and make careful considerations while determining a more appropriate salary base and competitive wage for ALL of our employees at the Sheriff’s Office.

State Capital Highlights

AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded a federal court ruling allowing the state to proceed with redistricting legislation without asking the federal government’s permission.

The July 24 ruling by a threejudge federal court rejected plaintiffs’ petition to require the state to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before re-districting legislation could take effect.

After the San Antonio-based panel ruled on the ongoing voting rights case, Perez v. Abbott, Paxton said, “This court ruling is a win for our Constitution and the right of Texans to gov-ern themselves.”

Paxton called the plaintiffs’ request for “bail-in” — that is, requiring proposed changes to voting laws and redistricting plans to be “precleared” by the Department of Justice — a “baseless challenge.”

State Capital Highlights

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on July 9 announced the receipt of $15 million in federal funding, meant to increase operational capabilities of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

The Operation Stonegarden Grant Program allocation is part of $30 million approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. The funds are meant to equip law enforcement “to confront the complex and dynamic challenges that exist along the Texas border,” according to the governor’s office news release.

The mostly liberal media, especially the press, seem fixated on the southern border “crisis” we are currently experiencing. The Dallas Morning News is a perfect example, as last Thursday’s and other issues demonstrate. The crisis is indisputably genuine; the causes of it, misleadingly printed.

Migrants are not immigrants. Immigrants have an element of legitimacy and purpose; migrants migrate for personal betterment; those on our southern border come here knowing that they will commit a crime to enter the U.S. illegally. I do not blame them for wanting the better life to be found here than that from whence they came, but they are not political refugees escaping a tyrannical government. Their reasons are overwhelmingly financial betterment.

Managing Editor

It wasn’t by choice. The concrete jungles of Pennsylvania youth prevented me from doing much, other than riding around and trying to avoid trouble.

My worldview was very limited, and I finally realized its limitations in my first visit to the Freestone County Fair and Rodeo.

For instance, I had never seen the level of personal pride displayed by the multitude of children and teenagers showing off their prized livestock. For them, these precious animals were more than just creatures; they were a year’s worth of hard work. Taking photos of the moments when the hard work paid off captured just how invested these young farmers were.

AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, on June 25 announced a crackdown on “illegal robocalls.”

The crackdown nicknamed “Operation Call it Quits” is part of the FTC’s ongoing effort to help stem the tide of annoying and unsolicited pre-recorded telemarketing calls. Paxton said the effort includes nearly 100 actions targeting operations around the country responsible for more than one billion calls pitching everything from fraudulent credit card services to auto warranty protection.

The Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division took legal action on several cases affecting Texans, including legal action against two companies that have placed calls to individuals who are on the Texas or federal no-call list.

City Council members are elected to help carry the burden of local government for their fellow citizens. Adding millions of dollars to an almost paid debt seems an odd way to help carry a burden. Adding onto an existing bond, consolidating, or even a totally new bond issue may be legal, but doesn’t seem very ethical without input from our citizens. If we, the community, have no say in the matter, some of us reading this letter will be dead and gone by the time the full debt is paid, and we will have shouldered our children with the load, and our